Royal Snow
by Night-time Lullaby
Summary: Twins born into a wold ruled by one king or queen fight to the death over the throne. (Story better then it sounds)
1. Chapter 1

Royal Snow

XxXxXxXx

The sound of rushed foot steps could be heard throughout the courtyard as a tall, blonde haired, blue eyed man wearing expensive looking colorful clothes and a crown of flowers and vines on his head hurried to his destination. Normally he would have stopped to look at the lovely snow flowers that grew all year round in the snow kindom, as they were like nothing he would see in his kingdom of spring, but on this day he was in a hurry. So, he ignored the snow covered ground with light green stalks sticking out, and he ignored the light purple flowers that bloomed only in snow. He had to focus on his goal, especially since he was already late.

The blonde man walked straight up to a set of big, white, arch-like doors, and shoved them open to reveal a massive room with four white walls. The room had four round pillars of the same shade of white to support the heavy ceiling, windows along a whole wall showing off the garden of winter plants, and another set of doors similar to the ones he'd just walked through. Even with the size, the room was scarcely decorated, with a single circular table and four chairs, two of which were already occupied. As he approched the occupents stood to greet him.

"Ah, Barry, I was wondering when you'd get here." said a lovely lady with long brown hair and jade green eyes, wearing a long dress of varying shades of browns, oranges, reds, yellows, and greens. She, like the blonde man, wore a crown, only hers was made of twigs and leaves. The blonde, Barry, smiled as he walked towards the woman, opening his arms to embrace her.

"Ah, lovely Serina, it's always a pleasure. Have I missed anything?" He asked her once they'd pulled apart.

"Not yet, my friend."

"Not yet, but you're still late! Oh, but I bet you were too busy smelling the violets or some other frivolous nonsense like that, hmm?" Both Serina and Barry turned towards a tall, muscular man with red hair and equally red eyes.

"Kazar, I'm sure Barry has a good reason for his lateness." Serina said, trying to calm the angered ginger while also trying not to lose her temper. She turned to Barry with an expectent look. "Isn't that right?"

With a smile and a sigh "My lovly little Raina didn't seem to want me to leave her. You know how she just loves my attention, she just hates to see me go. I had to wait and sneak away during her nap." Serina nodded in understanding while Kazar 'humphed'.

"In my kingdom children are much better behaved." he said, earning a glare from Serina.

"Oh, is that so?"

"Well of course! Just look at my Barron! He's a-"

"Pompus pig like his daddy?"

"Better then a tree-hugging goody-two shoes like your daughter!"

"How dare you!" Shouted Serina. Just as she and Kazar were about to get into a heated fight Barry stepped between them.

"Friends, there is no need for this anger! This is a happy occasion! The land of snow is about to have its next hier! Come now, let's stop this argument and talk of happier things!" exclaimed Barry. While Serina and Kazar both noticably calmed down and relaxed themselves neither of them were about to give up and so they continued to glare at each other. "Say, what gender do you think the child will be?" Barry asked, trying to change the subject.

"Why, a boy of course!" Declared Kazar as he straghtened his fiery red robes and fixed his own crown so that the golden sun on it was right in the middle of his forehead.

"As if, it'll more likely be a girl." Stated Serina. Right as the two were about to get into another argument the doors on the other side of the room opened and all heads turned towards a woman with dark blue hair and pale blue eyes wearing a white dress. Barry smiled and walked towards her. Serina and Kazar shared one last glare before following.

"Keyara, how's Lilac? Did she give birth to a healthy baby?" Barry asked happily, to which Keyara quietly nodded. Barry was about to say more, but was interupted.

"Well, out with it! Is it a boy?" demanded Kazar.

"Or is it a girl?" asked Serina.

Keyara jumped, startled by the two yelling voices and began to look down at her feet. Kazar began to growl. "Well?" he repeated. Serina turned to him, once again glaring.

"Hush! Can't you see you're scaring her?"

"Me? You're the one that's scaring her!"

"Hush, both of you!" Barry said, drawing both their attention. Once they'd quieted down he nodded to himself. "That's better, now" he turned to Keyara and placed a hand under her chin to make her look up. "Keyara, would you kindly tell us whether this child is a boy or a girl?"

"It's both."

"What?" yelled Kazar. "That's imposible!"

"What are you saying?" asked Serina.

"There's a boy, and there's a girl. It's twins."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter one

16 years later

"Ha! Give it up sis, you're no match for me!"

"Wanna bet?" I said as he aimed his weapon at my head. I ducked and swayed to the side, easily avoiding the wooden sword; at the same time trying to hit him in the ribs, and sadly failing. He'd seen it coming and jumped back. I growled low in my throat and he laughed condescendingly.

"Sure, I'll bet! I bet you couldn't hit the broad side of a barn!" he said as he laughed and started backing away, trying to move our sparring match away from the snowy training ground and into the garden where I'd known he'd set up traps. I wasn't about to let that happen. I focused my magic on a certain spot behind him, willing the snow to turn to ice, and smiling as it worked and my obnoxious brother stepped on the ice and fell flat on his butt. Without wasting a second chance I manuvered myself right in front of him and placed the end of my own wooden sword at his throat.

He glared up at me, nostrils flaring and strands of snowy white hair, not unlike my own, falling into his face. "Hey, no fair! You cheated! You know using magic in martial arts duels is against the rules!" he yelled. I widthdrew my sword and glared down at him.

"Oh, is that so brother dearest?" I asked in a fake sweet voice as he got up, still glaring.

"Why ask when you know it is!" he yelled.

"Leave it to a girl to cheat!" said the ever rude and always annoying Barron as he wiped away strands of red hair that had fallen to cover his red eyes. Barron is my brother's best friend, so naturaly he's always here. It was his stupid mouth that had started the duel, so is was no surprise that once the duel ended he would walk over to be annoying.

Raina and my two friends Skye and Mara had walked over. Raina had come to look at my brother with her love struck smile and was batting her long eyelashes at him. He didn't seem to notice her. 'I guess he's not into blue eyes, or maybe he just doesn't like blondes?' I thought with a mental shug. It didn't make a difference to me, so I turned my attention back to my brother's obnoxious friend.

"Watch what you say Barron, last I checked it's also against the rules to set up traps," I said in a dangerously quiet voice just loud enough to hear before turning my pale eyes onto my brothers matching ones "Isn't that right, brother?" His glare heated up but he managed to refrain from growling, barely. He then turned to Barron, and with a quick "Let's go," they left with the spoiled brat Raina following at their heals, swooning over my brother. As I watched her I couldn't help but think 'She makes me sick'.

"Wow, Aryanna, you really kicked that clowns butt!" cheered Skye, drawing my attention back to her and Mara as she did a peace sign, making her medium length brown hair get in her face. She didn't bother tucking it back behind her ear though as she started laughing, making me laugh also.

As I looked at Mara I saw that she was smiling from ear to ear just trying not to burst out laughing. Her joy was filling her light blue eyes. 'It seems their smiling's contagious, because I can't stop smiling back' I thought as I caught my breath enough to joke along with my friends.

"Well what did you expect? You didn't honestly think that I'd let my fool of a brother beat me, did you?" I asked smugly. Skye and Mara laughed at the thought.

"No way, you had Azreal beat from the start, no question about it." Skye'd said with a wave of her hand as she laughed at my brother's expence. Mara however sobered up, though she didn't lose her smile.

"You were wonderful Miss Aryanna, just splendid!" she said politely while nodding her head, making her dark blue hair bounce slightly. I nodded with a smile.

"So, what do you suppose we do now?" I asked as we started to head away from the training grounds, laughing and joking all the while. _I hadn't noticed that my mother, Queen Lilac Larcet Marienatte, had been watching. Maybe if I had I would have seen the sad look in her eyes at how poorly Azreal and I got along, or maybe I would have seen the first signes of her illness. As it was I hadn't seen her and so I continued on with my friends for the rest of the day until their parents came and picked them up._

Later that night, after I'd bathed and dressed in my lovley white nightgown I headed towards my room to sleep. On my way I'd passed Azreal's room and overheard something like crying. With my curiosity piqued I couldn't help but listen in.

**"Why? What caused this to happen? How'd this turn out so wrong?"**

'What's he talking about?'

**"Why do we have to fight? We used to get along so well! Why'd that go away? We used to be good siblings. What happened? I miss the old days when we were little."**

I couldn't listen anymore and decided to hurry to my room before I was caught, and before I started crying to. Once in my room I layed in my bed and cried silently into my pillow. It was true, we used to be close. We loved each other, we were siblings after all.

But time changes things, and the real world caught up with us. We weren't meant to be close. As soon as he'd befriended Barron and I befriended Skye our own friendship died. He'd spent countless hours with Barron, and as a result spent countless time with Kazar. Throughout that time his head was filled with sexist ideas from a chovanistic pig.

While, on the other hand, I had spent my time with Skye and her mother Serina. Serina was kind, but she had very different view points. Serina was a feminist, so in my time with her I learned that girls are just as good, if not better than boys.

We basically grew up with our friends, and in the process we grew apart.

'Sigh, there's nothing we can do about it now.' I thought as I got out of bed and walked over to my vanity. I sat at my chair, grabed my brush, and started brushing the knots out of my hair before it was time to go to bed. As I was doing this I watched myself in my mirror and saw my most prized possesion. My snowflake necklace that was normally tucked into my dress.

I'd reached up and grabbed it, holding it tight in my palm. It was the last thing Azreal had given me when we were kids. He'd worked so hard to make it. I never took it off. It used to fill me with such happyness. As I grew it filled me with hope that maybe some way, some how, Azreal and I could one day be as close as we used to be.

But the happyness ended, and the hope died. Now there's nothing but pain and the sad realization that we will never have what we once had.

A week later

"Ready! Set! Spar!" Keith, our instructor, yelled before moving to the side lines opposite our mother as Azreal and I went into our fighting stances. In this sparring match we weren't using wooden swords but instead our bare fists. 'Think, think, okay, let's see, Azreal's stronger and bigger then me, but I'm faster. If I move quick he won't be able to-'

"Queen Lilac!"

Azreal and I stopped before our sparring had even truly started. We both turned to see Keith rushing towards our mother, catching her as she fainted.

"Mom!" Azreal and I yelled simultaniously before worriedly rushing over to her prone form.


	3. Chapter 3

Our mother had been rushed to the medical wing of the castle to be looked over by Mara's mother, Keyara, as my brother and I sat outside her door waiting for news and hoping the news would be good. We didn't speak the whole time we were there, we each were too lost in our own thoughts. We waited for what felt like forever, but what must have been only hours for the door to open. When it did we both jumped to our feet and turned our anxious eyes onto Keyara.

"Well, how is she?" Azreal asked despiritedly.

"Will she be all right? What's wrong with her?" I asked, to which Keyara smiled sadly and sighed.

"She's very ill. I'm sorry, I can't say weather she'll be all right or not. I've done all I can and shall continue to do so. We can only hope that that will be enough." She said somberly. Her words didn't give me any hope though, and by the crestfallen look on my brother's face I could tell he was thinking the same thing.

"Can we see her?" I asked, trying to cling to a shred of hope. But Keyara frowned and shook her head.

"Not at the moment, she needs her rest. I'll call for you when she's up though, for now you two should go and try to relax. I doubt your mother would want you to worry over her."

"All right then." I said, my voice sounding so defeated, as my brother and I left with our shoulders slumped and heads cast towards the ground. Once again we didn't speak, too lost in our own thoughts and unsure of what to say as we headed towards our rooms and waited for Keyara to call us.

Once in my room I crawled into bed and hugged my pillow to my chest, trying not to fear the worst. All I could think was 'will she be alright?' and 'how'd she get so sick?' I wanted to get my mind off of those thoughts as they only hurt, but the thoughts wouldn't leave. The more I tried not to think the more my mind persisted.

I thought back to the past few days, to every moment I'd spent with her, trying to see if there were any signs. _Five days before, during mine and Azreal's lesson on royal magic, she's been swaying slightly. It was like she was dizzy or something, but I'd thought nothing of it._

_ During dinners for the past week she'd been eating less and less, saying that she'd lost her appetite, or that she wasn't hungry. Neither I nor Azreal questioned her. Only as I thought of it did I realize that she'd been getting paler than she used to be, and she'd been sneezing regularly. She'd also had two or three coughing fits, but when asked about it she'd said she was fine._

When the realization that there had been many signs hit me I broke and cried into my pillow. There was too much worry, too many signs. I cried myself to sleep that night. The next morning Azreal and I were told that our mother was awake and could be seen. We rushed to the medical wing and ran right to the bed she was still lying in.

"How are you feeling mother?" asked Azreal. My mother smiled at us, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was sad and tired. She wasn't feeling any better, she was still sick and she knew it. She'd known for a while she was sick.

_Why hadn't she told anyone that she wasn't feeling well? Why did she say she was all right when she wasn't?_

Despite the fact that we could tell she wasn't feeling any better she put on a brave face and said that she was. We knew she wasn't being honest though, we could see it in her eyes. "Children, please don't worry, I'll be out of here in a few days, no need to fret." But that hadn't helped ease our worries, if anything, it made them stronger.

From then on we stayed by her bed side as much as we could, only leaving to do things we needed to or when Keyara shooed us away saying that we needed our sleep too. Days passed. We had hoped that she would get better, like she'd said, but she only got worse. She was sleeping more and more, and eating less and less. We could see her fading.

Not too long after she'd first fainted the rest of the royals had heared of her illness. As it progressed they had started making frequent stops to see her, though the older royals didn't really stay in the room for long. They would stop by and watch for short periods of time, wishing our mother to heal fast, then leave to another room, leaving their children with Azreal and I.

Skye would sit next to me and place her hand on my shoulder, her way of saying that she'd been there for me whenever I needed her. Barron would also be there, but for once he wasn't his normal self. He'd sit quietly next to my brother with an arm over Azreal's shoulder for support. Azreal would usually grab his hand and hold it tight, but Barron didn't mind. That was his way of showing support.

Though through this I gained a bit of respect for Barron, I also gained a lot of hatred for Raina. She no longer made me sick, but instead made me furious. It seemed that she was under the impression that Azreal would somehow like her more while our mother was sick, and so, under this ludicris impression, she would flirt mercilessly with my brother. It got almost to the point where Azreal was about to hurt her, but Barron beat him to it by telling her off. She had run away crying and hadn't come back.

Barron and Raina had never gotten along, most likely because they both had a crush on my brother. It was painfully obvious though that Azreal prefered Barron to that twit, but I quess she was just too dense to see that. Oh well, it's not my concern, I was just thankful to Barron for finally making that attention seeking, know nothing leave.

A few days had passed since Raina was chased off. No one had shown up to visit during the time our mother woke. She smiled at Azreal and I, and we smiled back. But our smiles didn't reach our eyes and died quickly as her eyes shut again, but she wasn't asleep.

"Mother?" I said, my voice slightly trembling as I looked at her still form. She'd been lying still for days, but at least then her chest would rise and fall with her breath. No, this time nothing was moving. "Mother?" I said again, hopeing she's wake. I stretched my arm to grab her shoulder and lightly shake her, all the while my brother watched with wide eyes. He too was hoping for a miricle. But one never came.


	4. Chapter 4

I lay in my bed in the late afternoon. I held my pillow to my chest, just trying not to cry. All I could think of was the events of the past few days.

Though our mother had only just passed a short time ago, it seemed that the other royals were already debating over who should take the throne: Me, or my brother. It seemed that our mother hadn't chosen which of us should be her hier before her passing. As if that weren't bad enough it seemed that the rivalry between my brother and I had only gotten worse through all of this. It's not like I'd expected it to get better, but I hadn't thought that it could be any worse.

We haven't been on friendly terms since we were very young. It's sad though, because neither of us wanted to drift apart. We used to be inseperable, then, well, stuff happened. I can still remember back to when we were five.

Like one time when mom had been teaching us some simple magic. She was showing us how to make snowflakes. She told us to focus our magic and emotions on what we want. That was when mom had first taght us that no two snowflakes look alike.

Or once when we had been making snow angels and had heard something from near some snow cherry bushes. We had jumped up and went to investigate the sourse of the sound. When we looked around the bush we saw an adorible snow puppy. We ran over to him and played with him, we even named him. His name was Barkalomule, he was so friendly. Afterwords we had tried to sneak him into the palace, but mom had caught us. Thankfully she didn't make us let the puppy go, she thought it was too cute to watch us play with him.

Oh, and there was that one time when we were little. We had pranked Keith by strategicly setting up a bucket of glue and a bag of feathers. We had run away laughing at our mischief. But, in the end, our mom had found us and scolded us. We were also not allowed any desert for a week. It had been worth it.

But then, when the royals started visiting they would bring their children with for play dates. I hadn't liked Barron much, but I loved spending time with Skye. After a while I'd started begging to visit her, just as Azreal had started asking to visit Barron. We hadn't known it at the time, but that was the start of our 'falling-out'.

Just as I was thinking this I heard a knock at my door. I perked my head up before crawling out of bed, though still holding my pillow, and walked towards the door. When I opened it I saw Skye giving me a sad smile.

"Hey." she said.

"Hey."

"How are you holding up?" she asked as she watched for any signs that I could break. I sighed and turned my head down to the side.

"I'm as good as can be expected."

"Need a hug?" as she asked this she opened her arms. I didn't hesitate to take her up on the offer and dropped my pillow. I couldn't hold back any more and just cried. As I cried she rubbed comforting circles on my back while saying that it would all be all right.

She stayed with me til my tears dried up and I was left exausted. She then helped me into my bed. I passed out soon after my head hit the pillow. I still felt exausted when I woke the next day. I felt that way for several more days and didn't leave my room until I was made too.

I was made to get up and get dressed by the maids. They apparently didn't think that I should be wallowing in my misery and so I was made to go to the training grounds. Once I got there I saw Azreal looking just as miserable as I felt.

Keith was there as well to tell us that we were going to spar with the wooden swords again and then our magic instructor, Lenor, would come and we would practice what we'd last learned. The sparring didn't last too long however.

The sparring was basicly us just clashing swords for a few minutes before I ducked down and kicked his feet out from under him. Just from that I knew he wasn't even trying, not that I was really trying either. I had just wanted it to be over with, but it seemed that my winning pushed him a little.

It showed when Lenor had gotten to the training grounds. Lenor was a beautiful young woman with long legs, pale skin like every one that lived in the snow kingdom, long light green hair that was always tied in a brade, and lovely dark green eyes. Normally Azreal would be showing off the second he saw her, if only because he thought it was fun. But he'd done nothing of the sort. He usually would at least smile at her, but instead he was just glaring at everyone and everything that he saw.

He was too angry and frustrated to even concentrate, and as a result his magic backfired on him. His whole face had been covered in what appeared to be redish-green soot. We were excused after that. I had gone straight back to my room and Azreal had gone straight to the restroom to was his face.

I had gone back to lying in my bed, returning to my own misery for a while and reliving old memories.

_The sound of Azreal's chuckling mixing with my own giggles as we ran around in the snow with mother watching. The times when we built igloos and used them as our club houses; they always collapsed after a while, but we would just rebuild. It was mom that taught us how to make those igloos. She also taught us how to make snowballs, and we had had so many snowball fights after that._

_"Hey Ary, let's make a promise!" __Azreal had exclamed. I giggled and nodded exitedly._

_"Okay Azy!"__ and he smiled, his eyes lighting up like they always used to back then._

_"Let's promise to always be friends and to always be there for each other!"__ and I nodded, once again saying okay. Azreal had lifted his arm, his hand was almost a fist but he had his picky extended out. __"Pinky swear!"_

I brought my hand up to my face and looked at my finger sadly before just looking at the ceiling. "We broke our promise, didn't we? And we even pinky swore." Just then I'd heard the sound of a door slamming shut. Azreal.

I sighed. "Poor brother, you must feel so alone right now." I looked once again at my pinky finger. "But, you don't have to be." and with that thought I'd smiled. It had been my first real smile in a while, at least, that I didn't have to force. I nodded to myself before climbing out of bed and leaving my room. I walked down the hall til I reached Azreal's door and knocked.

"Go away!" I frowned, but that wasn't going to stop me. I grabbed the knob and opened the door a little.

"Azy? Can I come in?" I asked, trying not to tick him off any more then he already was. He looked up, I think he was surprised that I'd called him by his old nick name. It had been so long since we had last used those nick names. I think it was a good thing though for me to call him that, otherwise he might not have let me in. I walked over and sat next to him on the bed.

"So, how are you holding up?" I asked.

"Fine." he mumbled, but he still sounded angry. I looked down and saw that he was balling his fist and frowned.

"It's okay. I miss her too." I said, trying to show him that he wasn't alone. I reached out and put my hand over his. I thought it would be comforting, but it seemed to make him snap.

"Don't touch me!" he yelled as he jerked his hand away and leapt off the bed. He turned and sent me a death glare with more hate then I'd known existed. "You think you know what I'm feeling? Ha! As if! I bet you aren't even sad over that! You're just upset that mom didn't make you her heir!"

At that I jumped up and smacked him. I was beyond furious. "How dare you? She was my mother too! Of course I miss her! I loved her! I loved her just as much as you did!" I screamed.

"Yea right! This is all your fault!"

"How is it my fault? She was sick!" He didn't calm down, but the way he talked and moved slowed slightly. They were still filled with hate though.

"I bet you wanted this."

"What?"

"You wanted her to die so you could take the throne. That's it, isn't it!" Azreal yelled.

"You're insane!" but he just smirked and continued like I hadn't spoken.

"Well, if that's your game then you're going to lose. I'm going to get the throne."

I didn't know what took over me. But I glared daggers at him as I growled out "Over my dead body." before storming out of the room, making sure to slam the door as hard as I possibly could. I continued on my angered rampage as I walked back to my room. Once back in my room my mind was clouded by memories from when I was just a child; but unlike the eirlier memories these were not happy.

_The sound of Azreal's chuckling now mixing with the obnoxious laughter of Barron as they ran away, leaving me covered from head to toe in green paint. The sound of their annoying snickering as they read the diary that they had stolen, my diary. The way they'd pointed and laughed as I was literally stuck where I stood thanks to glue and the melted soles of my shoes, curtasy of Barron and his summer magic. And so, so many other things._

Why did I even bother trying to be nice to him? It was Azreal that had first broken our promise. It was more his fault then mine that we were no longer close. I didn't start this fight, but I planned on ending it.


	5. Chapter 5

Over the next few weeks my anger towards Azreal only grew, and it seemed that was also true for him. Our sparring matches were no longer just fun and games. We were getting more and more violent, not even hesitating to cause the other bodily harm. Our old tricks were no longer to humiliate each other but to trap one another, making it easier to hurt them.

Several times Keith had to stop us in the middle of our fights, even having to once physically drag one of us away from the other. He soon found out though that by doing that he was giving the other a free shot. He refused to train us alone after that so Lenor had to be there when we trained. Keyara was also normally there, if only so we didn't have to walk alone or be carried all the way to the medical wing.

And things were only getting worse with every passing day.

Every chance we got to hurt one another we took, whether it be physically, mentally, or emotionally. It was like we were trying to destroy each other from the inside out. Things were getting out of hand, and it didn't help any that the other royals were still coming over to discus who should take our mother's throne.

It seemed like every time I passed by the room they were in I would hear them yelling. Most of the time it wasn't even about Mother's throne; Serina and Kazar could argue over the littlest thing. It was a good thing Barry was there to break them up every time, but anyone with a brain could tell that he too was close to losing his cool. With the way things were heading it seemed like everyone was going to explode. It was only a matter of time, and that time was growing shorter by the second.

Things were escalading faster and faster. After a point Keith out right refused to train us. In his own words, he'd said that he couldn't continue to watch these assassination attempts continue. He'd been right to call them assassination attempts, though neither I nor my brother had realized at the time just how right he was. No, at that time we'd just gotten even more agrivated and frustrated.

Things kept getting worse and worse, until the day when everything finally broke. It was the day that everyone's tempers exploded. It hadn't started out as a bad day though.

I had decided to go for a walk out side. As I'd looked around I started thinking about the past. I could see my memories playing out before my eyes, it was like reliving my life, but none of the good parts.

I saw pranks replayed. I could hear Azreal and Barron laughing again, just like when we were kids. I could see them as they ran away, leaving me behind. Then mommy would come and help me, and she'd catch Azreal and ground him. But Mom's not here anymore.

I sighed. The pain wasn't as bad as it had been at first, but it was still there. As I continued walking around I wondered if it would ever go away. I ended up walking to Mother's old study where the other royals were still debating. As I looked around I saw Azreal standing by the door trying to ease drop.

I'd walked up behind him, my arms already crossed and a glare on my face directed at the back of his head. "And what are you doing, dear brother?" I said in an icy cold tone, spitting out the last part like poison. He turned swiftly and met my glare with one of his own.

"What I'm doing, dear sister, is none of your buisness." He replied haughtily, scrunching his face up like he smelt some thing bad as he addressed me as his sister. I wanted to smack him but decided against it, thinking it'd be more fun to rile him up.

"Fine, not like I really care. I already know that no one in their right minds would pick you to take mother's throne." I replied as I made to turn around, but before I could do so I ducked to the side on instinct. Thank goodness for reflexes. I turned back to see a seething Azreal getting ready to strike again.

"How. Dare. You." he said between panting breaths, his rage filling each word as he used his magic to cover his hand in ice. Big, long spikes formed over his knuckles. But I wasn't scared, only angry and slightly entertained.

"What? Can't take the truth?" I teased. He instantly ran at me, making a sound similar to a roar as he tried to make contact. I laughed as I easily dodged him. "Oh, brother dearest, I think you're getting sloppy." I said with a giggle only to scream loudly as he managed to make contact with my side, sending me to the ground. I shouldn't have been taking him so lightly.

It was at that point that I heared the other royals come out side to see what all the noise was, but I didn't pay them any mind. I had more important things to deal with as I turned to look up at Azreal to see him smirking down at me.

"What's the matter Ary? Getting sloppy?" he teased, using the same tone I had before trying to hit me again. I dodged his spiky, ice covered hand before he could make contact again. His magic was strong, I couldn't let him get me. I had to keep a good distance as long as he was using his magic for close combat.

He continued to throw punch after punch, but I dodged every one. This only made him angrier, and the angrier he got the stronger his magic became. I needed to think, but it was difficult to think of a strategy while you're being targeted by someone that's out for blood.

Thankfully we heared a scream, long and loud. It distracted Azreal just long enough for me to turn the tables. I focused my magic to creat a whip and lashed at Azreal, smacking him across the face and leaving a long red gash. I smirked as he grabbed at his cheek, the ice around his hand having melted when he first lost his focus. He squeezed his eyes shut in pain.

I took this as my opportinity to lash at him again before he could comprehend what was happening. The whip tore his shirt where it hit at his shoulder and down his chest. He grunted in pain as he grabbed his shoulder with his other hand. Blood covered both his hands as it seeped through his fingers.

"What's the matter brother? Can't handle a little pain?" I asked. He forced open his eyes and glared at me. With a growl he picked himself up. At first his legs were shaky, but it didn't take him long to right himself.

I willingly let my ice whip melt to the ground and crossed my arms as I watched him with a raised eyebrow. "Are you really going to continue fighting like that?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not about to let you take mom's place." he grunted out.

"Oh, please, you never stood a chance! I'm a better choice to be the next ruler of winter! You're just a spoiled little brat that brakes his promises!" I screamed at him. My hands were fisted at my sides and I had squeezed my eyes shut, not in physical pain but in emotional pain. I had thought that he was harmless, having been hurt so badly. I made a big mistake. I'd forgotten about healing magic.

Because of this mistake I was caught compleatly off gaurd as I felt something hit me right across the face. His fist. Thankfully he hadn't had enough time to cover it with ice again. I had fallen to the ground and smacked my head hard. I didn't have time to check and see if I was alright though. Azreal was already aiming his next strike and I had to move.

I rolled away just in time and kicked him in the side, causing him to fall to the ground to. I took this small brake in time to jump back to my feet, sadly he did to. And he was quick to start his attacks again. It was back to him throwing punches and me dodging. But, this time, I had a plan.

When I got far enough away I aimed my hands down and made an ice pillar rise from the ground where I was standing. From there I had the perfect view of Azreal and could use my magic for long range attacks. I focused my power to create spheres of pure energy that could destroy anything they hit. It was a desperate move. I knew I would only have enough power for one try.

But, I thought I had an advantage. I didn't think Azreal would know what I was doing. I only knew about this from studying ahead, we hadn't been taught yet. I didn't think he'd know, but aparently he knew enough to get out of its way. Instead it hit a building which soon callapsed.

I didn't have enough magic left to sustain the pillar that I was standing on and it melted faster then I could move. As I fell I was hit repeatedly with some thing hard and sharp, some form of weapon Azreal had learned about. I could just barely hear the scream of another over my own as I fell to a bloody heap on the ground.

As I lay there gasping for breath, a pool of my own blood surrounding me, I barely noticed Azreal approch and kneal down to face me. He was snearing and looked like he was about to say some thing cruel when he froze. He reached down towards my neck. _'Is he going to strangle me?'_ I'd wondered.

My vision was going blurry. _'If I pass out now I'll die. No! I won't die! I refuse to!'_ and with those last thoughts I focused all my energy and my last bit of magic to create an ice dagger and drive it through Azreal's heart.

The last thing I remembered before falling into unconshousness was seeing his shocked face turn lifeless and feeling a tug at my neck as he fell besides me, his hand wrapping around my necklace. I'll never forget the look on his face.


	6. Chapter 6

As I awoke almost two weeks later I was greeted with the faces of Keyara and Mara as they tended to my wounds. "Oh, Aryanna, you're awake! How are you feeling?" Keyara asked, but I didn't know how to respond. At first I couldn't remember most of what happened. The only thing that I could remember clearly was Azreal's face, but his eyes were empty.

"What happened?" I asked as I tried to sit up. It seemed that that was the wrong thing to say. I noticed that Mara refused to look me in the eye. Keyara sighed and looked down.

"Mara, would you leave us for a bit?" she asked as she turned to look at her daughter. Mara nodded without looking at either of us and left quickly without saying a word. Keyara then turned to me and told me every thing that had happened. As she spoke I began to remember my last fight with Azreal, but I wished I hadn't.

She also told me about what had happened to the other royals, mainly Barry, Kazar, and Serina. Apparently after they had come out to see what was going on they saw us fighting. Kazar had started cheering for Azreal, which angered Serina who started arguing with him. Barry had left to find his daughter and leave before either of them could get involved in the fight.

After being left alone to argue amongst themselves Serina and Kazar hadn't hesitated to go all out. They had started fighting like Azreal and I, but their fight hadn't lasted as long. Serina was a master in magic while Kazar was mainly skilled in close combat and strategy. Serina had the advantage and easily took Kazar out. But, not to long after she'd finished the job she was finished herself.

Skye and Barron had shown up right at that moment. Barron, in a fit of rage, stabbed Serina before she had the time to turn around. Serina hadn't even known that the two of them were there. Skye had screamed. It seemed that she was the one that caught Azreal's attention during our fight.

After her scream she too went into a blind rage and had started attacking Barron in an attempt to avenge her mother. Thankfully Barry had heard the screaming and returned to see what was going on. He was met with the sight of his friends corpses and their children fighting each other with everything they had. Since he didn't want anymore blood shed he used a small amount of his magic to put them into a peacefull sleep before going back to looking for his own child.

He found her near where Azreal and I were fighting it out. She was planning to help Azreal out and kill me by attacking from behind, but Barry wouldn't have that. He was going to take her home and keep her from this mess. She didn't want to leave though and they argued.

Sadly they were standing by the building that was destroyed by my energy sphere. Raina hadn't seen the building start to collapse as her back was to it, but Barry had. He reacted by shoving her out of danger, and in the process was crushed to death. Once Raina turned around she saw him lying dead. She started screaming and crying. She was the hardest to console.

All three of the remaining royals had been taken to the medical wings in their respective kingdoms. I was told that once every one was better there would be funerals for everyone that had died.

So, once we had all fully recovered it was time to start the funerals. The first to be buried was Kazar, as he had been the first to die. Skye, Raina, and I looked down sadly, but none of us knew what to say. Barron stood tall though. He didn't cry, but his eyes held regret and sorrow as he watched his father being lain to rest.

A few days later Serina was burried. Barron didn't cry, and Raina just stood still and looked at the ground. I shed a few tears, but Skye was the one crying her heart out. Barron and Raina left early, but I stayed with Skye and held her as she cried herself to sleep before carrying her to her room and putting her to bed.

Not to long after that Barry was lain to rest. Barron was the only one to not cry. He once again left early, but Skye and I stayed to help Raina.

The last to be burried was Azreal. His funeral had been the hardest. Even Barron cried. I think he cried the hardest and the longest. He had really loved Azreal.

We were all miserable. It seemed like everyone wanted to wallow in their sorrows. But, like always, time goes on. It doesn't matter who you lose or how many you lose. Time will always go on.

We grew up. We took our parent's places. We became the royals. Eight years have passed.

Raina had a lovely little girl that she named Cherry. Skye too had an adorible baby girl that she named after her mother, and Barron had a son that he named after his father.

As for me? I've just had twins. A boy and a girl named after my mother and brother.

My sweet little ones, Azreal and Lilac, I wonder how your story will play out; only time can tell.


End file.
